Instructions
Restrict your Basset hound's living quarters to one or two rooms when you first bring it home. This will make it easier for you to monitor the dog and preventing it from making messes all over the house. Place papers down in one area of the room. Use pretreated papers if possible, because these give off a scent that will encourage the dog to pass waste on them.
Place your hound on the papers when you suspect that it needs to pass waste, such as when it wakes up and after meals. Watch out for telling behaviors, such as walking in circles and sniffing the ground; this will generally mean that the dog is about to pass waste, according to PetEducation.com. Spend as much time with your puppy as you can during this stage of potty training to familiarize yourself with the signs that it is about to pass waste. Reward your hound by giving it lots of verbal praise when it uses the desired area.
Move the scented papers outdoors once the hound has learned to pass waste on them. Continue to take it to the desired toilet area, which is now outdoors, when it wakes up and immediately after meals. Keep the dog on a lead when you do this to prevent it from becoming distracted by a scent. Wait for five minutes, and if the Basset successfully passes waste, say "go potty" to help it to associate passing waste with the words. Reward it with plenty of verbal praise and then go back inside. If your dog does not pass waste after five minutes, take it back inside and wait five minutes before trying again.
Say "no" in a stern voice if you catch your hound passing waste in an undesirable area within the house. Take it to the toilet area immediately and wait with it. Praise the dog if it finishes relieving itself in the correct place. Do not punish your dog if you find that it has passed waste while you were not there. The dog will not connect the punishment with the action if it happened more than 30 seconds earlier. Clean up the mess and try again.
How to Potty Train Basset Hounds
When potty training your Basset hound, it is important that you are consistent and patient. The Basset can be more challenging to potty train than some other breeds. According to TrainPetDog.com this is due to the dog's instinct to follow a scent when it is outdoors, which causes it to be easily distracted. You can begin potty training your Basset at eight weeks of age using methods of positive reinforcement. You can also help your dog to learn quickly by setting it up to succeed.